New Zealand Retail

New Zealand: Retail sales pick up in Q4 on motor vehicle industry

February 16, 2015

Retail sales expanded a seasonally-adjusted 1.7% in Q4 over the previous quarter. The reading was up slightly from the 1.6% increase tallied in Q3. The reading, which marked the largest gain since Q2 2012, exceeded market expectations of a weaker 1.3% expansion.

According to the statistical office, 12 of the 15 retail industries registered higher sales volumes in this latest quarter. Q4’s expansion mainly reflected an increase in the motor vehicles industry, which rose 3.4% quarter-on-quarter. In addition, food and beverages services as well as sales at supermarkets and grocery stores also tallied notable gains.

Compared to the same period last year, retail sales jumped from a 4.7% increase in Q3 to a 5.9% expansion in Q4, which marked the highest gain since Q2 2007.

Newsletter Subscription

New Zealand Economic News

At its meeting on 8 February, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) met market analysts’ expectations and kept the Official Cash Rate (OCR) unchanged at a record-low 1.75%, where it has been since November 2016.
The Central Bank’s latest decision came soon after the Statistical Institute revealed that inflation fell in Q4, moving further from the midpoint of the Bank’s 1.0%–3.0% target range.